The present invention relates generally to farm equipment and more particularly to an attachment for farm vehicles enabling both the transport of a circular bale of hay, or other fodder, and the dispensing of the baled material.
In common use are baling machines which form hay into large, circular bales which are of a highly compacted nature and range from approximately 1,500 pounds to 3,000 pounds. While certain advantages exist in baling hay in such a manner, a problem has arisen in transporting of the heavy, cumbersome bales. A related problem is the dispensing of the highly compacted hay or other fodder. Costly attachments for existing farm vehicles include fork assemblies which enable lifting and transporting of the bales with no provision made for distributing the baled hay for cattle feeding purposes. The bales, left in a free standing manner for cattle feed, result in substantial waste as a significant portion of the hay is trampled or lost as feed by reason of being contaiminated. Further, the access of cattle to the intact bale is restricted.
While some efforts have been made to provide an efficient system for discharging baled hay such have not been entirely successful by reason of their complicated, costly nature. Such systems include heavy components which, along with the hay bale, are offset from the supporting vehicle centerline to render the vehicle susceptible to tipping.